ROBOTICS: YESTERDAY’S
DREAM, TODAY’S REALITY
Ask ten people to define a robot and you will likely get ten different
answers, ranging from the basic (a machine that uses a computer brain
to think) to the more complicated (a reprogrammable, multifunctional manipulator
designed to move material, parts, tools or specialized devices through
various programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks).
Along with a variety of definitions, everyone has a particular vision
of what robots are and what they can be. Mostly, these perspectives come
from movies such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Sleeper, Short Circuit and
The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Breathing
Life into Objects
The idea of some kind of artificial being has been in the minds of people
for ages. Greek myths were full of such tales. There is Pygmalion, who
fell in love with his female ivory sculpture and successfully pleaded
with the goddess Aphrodite to make it live. Hephaestus gave life to two
gold female statues who became cupbearers on Mount Olympus, and Daedalus
created mobile statues to guard the Labyrinth in Crete. Leonardo da Vinci
drew plans for a mechanical man in the 1400s. In the 1700s, the French
engineer Jacques de Vaucanson built a mechanical duck that could waddle
as well as eat, digest and excrete food.
The
word “robot” did not actually exist until the 1920s when it
was coined by Czechoslovakian writer Karel Capek for his play, R.U.R.
(Rossum’s Universal Robots). The term described artificial humans
created to do the work of people, but the robots turned on humans and
killed them, a fear that still exists about robots.
A
robot named Elektro and his dog Sparko appeared at the 1939 World’s
Fair in New York. When Elektro was plugged in, he could move back and
forth and say 77 words. The invention of transistors and integrated circuits
in the 1950s and ’60s greatly advanced the field of robotics, and
today’s robots search for people trapped under rubble, analyze the
surface of Mars, rehabilitate stroke victims, help doctors perform delicate
surgery, defuse bombs, assemble cars and make and package various products.
The
Future of Robotics
In the future, there may be virtual travel, in which people take control
of a robot at a particular destination and use the Internet to send and
receive sensory information. This same technology also could bring back
doctors’ house calls; and of course, there is the classic vision
of servant robots to clean our house, cook our food, carry packages, remind
us to take medication and generally serve as our faithful companions.
Sandia
National Laboratories cited a U.S. Department of Energy report that predicts
by the year 2020, “microscale robots with the ability to crawl, fly
and swim will work together to perform monitoring, surveillance and intelligence
operations. Larger robots will clean up radioactive spills, removing humans
from hazardous situations. Still others will assemble weapons’ components
that now are tediously built in ’clean rooms’ by people using
microscopes and tweezers.”
Students’
Robotics Competition
Robots also can be used for just plain fun these days. Robot dogs can
be purchased to serve as startlingly life-like pets, and a popular television
program of the last few years features “Battlebots” fighting
each other to the death.
Another
less destructive competition involves high school teams and is both fun
and educational for its participants. The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition
of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition puts high school students
with college students and professionals in an event designed to inspire,
entertain and educate.
There
also is a FIRST Junior Robotics Program that features a competition. Booker
T. Washington High School (BTW) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, entered a team in
2003 for the first time. The 13 team members received a grant from NASA
(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the help of students
from a University of Tulsa robotics class. Despite being its first year
in the competition, BTW finished in the top 20 of nearly 60 teams at the
St. Louis regional.
FIRST
Junior Robotics competitor teams were given parts, computer software and
six weeks to construct a robot to compete in “Stack Attack”
in which robots collect and stack plastic storage containers in certain
zones of a 24- by 54-foot carpeted playing field. Matches featured two
teams working together to stack their containers and knock over the other
team’s containers.
Teams
programmed their robots to function autonomously for the first 15 seconds
of the competition. For the remaining 1 minute and 45 seconds, the robots
were controlled by a team member. In addition to container placement,
additional points were awarded for getting a robot on top of a platform
located in the center of the field.
“The
competition is a wonderful opportunity for any student who wants to pursue
a career in engineering,” said Pamela Diaz, sponsor for BTW’s
Robotics Club. “It takes very creative thinking. Students have to
ask themselves, ‘How do I make it do that?’ and they find it’s
not so easy. As a result of the competition, you find yourself looking
at any kind of machine and asking yourself, “Can I re-create that?”
BTW
team member Parousia Rockstroh says the experience made him step back
and “realize the grand scale. You have to be really organized. You
have to understand the mechanics of how the robots work and learn how
to build something. The project also involves computer programming. You
get to actually apply theory to practice.”
Rockstroh,
who last summer participated in a NASA internship at the University of
New Mexico, hopes to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). When asked whether robotics competitions like FIRST inspire students
and encourage them to pursue further study in fields of math, science
and technology, Rockstroh replied, “I definitely think so. Some of
the people from last year’s robotics team are now studying math or
science at prestigious universities.”
Rockstroh
concurs with many scientists and engineers who seem to agree that the
future of robotics is almost unlimited. “Just as a few years ago,
computers became an integral part of life,” Rockstroh said; “so
too will robotics.”
GLOSSARY
actuator — a part of the robot which can be moved.
biomechanics
— the study of living things as mechanical structures.
degrees
of freedom — the number of independent directions of motion a
robot has to control.
localization
— the process by which a robot works out where it is.
rangefinder
— an active sensor used to find the distance of objects in the environment.
sensor
— a part of a robot that can receive data from its environment.
zero
moment point — a dynamic center of gravity; the point on the
robot where all forces are in balance.
DISCUSSION
QUESTIONS
(Some
discussion questions are from http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/robbie/)
|
| 1. |
What
are the advantages of creating a walking robot that is able to maneuver
around the surface of the earth like human beings and other creatures
that have legs? Make a list of situations for which walking robots
would be better suited than wheeled vehicles. |
| 2. |
In
movies, on television and in books, robots are often (though not always)
portrayed as the enemies of humankind. Why do you think science fiction
writers depict robots as frightening? What qualities make robots scary
to humans? |
| 3. |
Robots--from
miniature earthbound types to those launched into Earth’s orbit--can
be used by our neighbors, the military, local police forces and our
bosses to monitor every movement we make. In a free society that values
privacy, there may be a need to put limits on the use of such surveillance-type
robots. Take an inventory of the surveillance technology that is already
available in your community and school. What rules do you think should
be put into place for the acceptable use of each of these technologies? |
| 4. |
It’s
probably obvious why it would be better to use a robot than a human
to perform certain functions — like diffusing a bomb, for instance,
or fighting in a war. On the other hand, would you want a robot pitcher
on your favorite baseball team? A robot teacher in your classroom?
A robot psychiatrist or president? A robot parent? A robot best friend?
What qualities do humans have that you think could never be replaced
by robots? Why? |
CLASSROOM
PROJECTS
(The
following activities are from the Carnegie Science Center; additional
activities can be found at www.thetech.org/robotics/activities.)
|
| 1. |
|
Design
a Robot
Materials Needed
|
| · |
drawing
supplies |
| · |
building
construction
sets or household junk — boxes, rods, tongue depressors,
pipe cleaners, etc. |
| What
to Do |
| · |
Decide
on a task for a robot to do, such as catching a ball, digging
a hole or washing the dishes. |
| · |
Be
creative in your solutions — think about how various animals
and machines perform different tasks. |
| · |
Draw
or construct a robot to do your task. Use household junk or
construction materials. Time or materials can be limited to
resemble real engineering challenges. |
| · |
Write
a story about your robot, explaining why the robot was needed
and how it will accomplish its task. |
| |
|
|
| 2. |
|
Can
a robot tie your shoes?
Background
Robots
are machines that do specific tasks. Movies are full of robots
that can do everything that humans can do and more. However,
in reality, there are limits to what robots can do. This activity
is designed to help analyze a simple, everyday task from the
point of view of a robot. Gloves, blindfolds and pliers are
used to limit sensory information, and tongue depressors limit
the number of moving joints.
Tying
a shoe, an every-day task that seems easy enough for us, is
difficult, if not impossible, for a mechanical robot. Robots
have limited movement, only a few sensors, and are controlled
by computers which must be programmed with instructions for
each step required. It is difficult for two people to work
together to tie a shoe. Likewise two robots working together
is very difficult to coordinate and only recently has been
achieved. (A line of robots working sequentially in an assembly
plant is different than two robots working together on the
same task.)
It
is helpful for participants to discuss their experience after
each variation.
Materials Needed
|
| · |
shoes
that tie |
| · |
tongue
depressor |
| · |
masking
tape |
| · |
heavy
gloves |
| · |
two
pairs of pliers |
| · |
blind
folds |
What
to Do
Try tying your shoes blindfolded. Not too hard! Now,
repeat the activity but with heavy gloves on your hands. Then,
tape tongue depressors onto your thumbs and forefingers and
try again. And
if those activities weren’t difficult enough, tie your
shoes with pliers. First, use pliers in both hands; then with
only one hand; finally with two people -- each with one pair
of pliers. For fun, these activities can be set up as a race
between two people.
|
| |
|
|
| 3. |
|
Keeping
the Balance
Materials Needed
|
| · |
cushion
|
| · |
blindfold
|
| · |
a
safe place with no obstructions and a soft floor |
What
to Do
See
how each of the following affects your ability to balance. |
| · |
Stand
on the cushion with your arms out to the side. |
| · |
Stand
on one foot. |
| · |
Try
to balance on one foot blindfolded. |
| · |
Hold
your arms at your sides. |
| |
|
| How
easy is it to balance in each situation? As you do the activity,
each step limits your sensory information more and more. The
cushion limits information from the bottoms of your feet, standing
on one foot limits information to only one foot and finally
you eliminate visual information from your eyes. Your senses
combine to your ability to balance. By holding your arms at
your sides, you could no longer make small adjustments as your
body lost its balance. As you move around, you constantly use
sensors to assess the position of the body and use that information
to make the required adjustments to keep from losing your balance.
|
|
SOURCES
& SITES
Books
Arrick, Roger and Stevenson, Nancy. Robot Building for Dummies.
Wiley. 2003.
Asimov,
Isaac. The Robots of Dawn. Doubleday. 1983.
Asimov,
Isaac. I, ROBOT. Gnome Press. 1950.
Aylett,
Ruth. Robots: Bringing Intelligent Machines to Life? Barron’s
Educational Series. Quarto Publishing. 2002.
Barnes
& Noble New American Encyclopedia. Volume 16. Page 246. Grolier.
1991.
Beyer,
Mark. Robotics. Children’s Press, a division of Scholastic
Inc. 2002.
Branwyn,
Gareth. Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Building Robots.
Que. 2003.
Druin,
Allison and Hendler, James (Editors). Robots for Kids: Exploring New
Technologies for Learning. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. 2000.
Iovine,
John. Robots, Androids, and Animatrons (second edition).
McGraw-Hill. 2002.
Martin,
Fred G. Robotic Explorations: A Hands-On Introduction to Engineering.
Prentice Hall. 2001.
Web
sites
www.usfirst.org (For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science and Technology. Inspires an appreciation of
science and technology. Information about FIRST Robotics competition.)
www.thetech.org/robotics
(Excellent site about the history, workings and ethics of robotics. Classroom
activities.)
www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,538588,00.asp
(“Future Vision: Cheap Robots Change the World.” By Colin Angle.
ExtremeTech. September 17, 2002.)
www.sandia.gov/LabNews/LN03-12-99/robot_story.htm
(“Roadmap Envisions Future of Robotics, Defines Steps to Get There.”
By Chris Burroughs. Sandia Lab News. March 12, 1999.)
http://ranier.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/internetrobots.html
(NASA Space Telrobotics Program. Pages of robotics links.)
www.occdsb.on.ca/~proj4632/teachers.htm
(Robotics site for teachers.)
http://schoolscience.rice.edu/duker/robots/robotintro.html
(Basic site about robots.)
http://wywy.essortment.com/whatisrobot_ojq.htm
(Basic site about robots.)
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/robbie/
(Site by the Discovery Channel. Lesson plans, activities, and links about
robots.)
Trace
Evidence | Weather Prediction | Recycling
with Worms
Robotics | Nanotechnology
Last Updated: 03/04/04
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